Best Animated Films Oscar Category: Record 20 Movies Enter

There's been a lot of discussion this year over Oscar's decision to increase the field of Best Picture nominees from five to 10, but there's another category quietly experiencing it's own expansion: Best Animated Feature Film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a record 20 animated features have been submitted for consideration, which likely will lead to five pictures being in contention this year as opposed to the usual three.
There's been a lot of discussion this year over Oscar's decision to increase the field of Best Picture nominees from five to 10, but there's another category quietly experiencing it's own expansion: Best Animated Feature Film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a record 20 animated features have been submitted for consideration, which likely will lead to five pictures being in contention this year as opposed to the usual three.

The number is not being changed due to imperial fiat like the Best Picture race, however; Academy rules simply stipulate that the number of nominees must be capped at three if there are fewer than 16 submissions. Since the category was introduced in 2001, that figure has only been reached on one previous occasion.

That's about to change in a big way, though, thanks to an unusually large -- and strong -- field of animation contenders. So who is in the mix this year? As usual, Pixar must be considered the frontrunner thank to their acclaimed blockbuster 'Up', which left critics swooning and grossed over $293 million this summer. Also in the mix is perennial favorite Hayao Miyazaki for his Disney-released fable 'Ponyo'; the legendary Japanese director previously won the award for 'Spirited Away' in 2002 and was nominated for 'Howl's Moving Castle' in 2005.